"Sit there on the sideline and I’m the guy yelling at them. ‘You gotta do this. You gotta do that. What are you talking about?’ " - Tim Frazier

STATE COLLEGE -- Since he was 5 years old basketball was the one thing Tim Frazier always had. He’d run through the family’s home in Houston bouncing a ball, knocking over his sister’s trophies and challenging her to games where his size and age didn’t matter.

Young Tim and his boundless energy didn’t mind that his sister, Krystal, was five years older than him, taller than him and could block his shots with ease. The skinny boy, who initially was too small for contact sports, gravitated toward basketball where his quickness became one of his best assets.

Coach Patrick Chambers, guard Tim Frazier and the Nittany Lions will open their 2012-13 season at home against St. Francis.AP Photo/Andy Colwell, file

He was always a point guard and a pretty good one too.

“Most people learn basketball early on with a one on one kind of mentality,” recalled his sister Krystal, who played basketball at Rice University. “Tim at an early age didn’t have that. He always wanted to make the team better and do whatever it takes to help team out. He is such a true point guard.”

Heading into this season, Penn State’s returning leading scorer and do-it-all player was supposed to continue to be the team’s leader and one of the top guards in the country. A preseason Naismith award watch list selection, a Wooden Top-50 pick and a preseason All-Big Ten nominee, Frazier was a bright spot on a team expected to struggle mightily in the Big Ten.

That’s why not being on the court this year hurts him more than the pain he felt in his lower left leg when he rolled around on the court and then hobbled toward the bench, unsure just how serious his injury was.

Frazier had surgery two days after sustaining the injury and immediately his new role was defined.

“In my short time here he’s done everything I’ve asked him to do and then some,” Chambers said. “He’s resilient. He will persevere. He will rebound from this injury and he will come back bigger, better and stronger, which is scary.”

A coach in the making

It’s not his preferred mode of transportation, but Frazier maneuvered his blue-colored electronic scooter onto the Bryce Jordan Center floor and put up in a few shots before practice. With his left leg propped up on the front of the scooter, he grabbed a ball off the rack and steered his way underneath the basket.

Confined to the electronic scooter for 2-to-3 weeks after surgery, Frazier was bored and frustrated. He’s the player teammates refer to as the Energizer Bunny. The one who can’t sit still long enough to play video games. The player Chambers says is hands down the fastest guy he’s ever coached.

That speed was reduced to two settings on the scooter: Turtle or rabbit. Naturally, Frazier slid the button over to rabbit and swerved near the water coolers weaving in front of managers who were preparing the court for practice.

“As fast as you see him on the court, that’s how he is in real life,” Penn State graduate assistant and Frazier’s roommate, Billy Oliver, said. “He’s going to have one strong leg that he’s been hopping around on. He’s got the scooter and he’s not shy about it. You think it’d slow him down. I’m the one trying to keep up with him.”

Frazier progressed to a new cast with crutches and last week was able to wear a protective boot and begin slight movements with the leg. He still can’t put any weight on the Achilles but without the scooter he is able to become Chambers’ right-hand man.

Practices are what the wiry 6-foot-1 player says he misses most. Rather than running around he’s seated on the sidelines, crutches behind the bench, coaching his teammates. He’s telling them where to make the pass, how to set up the offense and what he would’ve done if he was in their position.

Without Frazier Penn State doesn’t have another true point guard to fill the void. Shooting guard D.J. Newbill was asked to step up and play the point and is the recipient of most of Frazier’s coaching.

Since the injury the two have become roommates on the road. Newbill, who is playing his first season with the team after sitting out last year due to transfer rules, asks for and welcomes the critiques.

“He’s played a major role in helping me,” said Newbill who averaged 15.1 points while playing an average of 35. 3 points per game. Teammate Jermaine Marshall chipped in with 15.1 points per game as well. “He obviously has more experience at the point guard position than I have, leadership wise too. He’s been passing on knowledge as I go through this process.”

Two overtime layups against Delaware State had Frazier hopping off the bench on one foot, heading toward Newbill to tell him how proud he was. And how relieved too, because after all, the wins make missing this year a little less painful.

“You see D.J. with a great finish, (teammate) Sasa (Borovnjak) has some key rebounds, Jermaine comes up big and you see them grow before your eyes,” Frazier said. “I feel kind of like a big brother when D.J. goes out there and has a good game.”

Frazier refuses to wear a suit and tie when he sits on the bench during games because “I still think of myself as a player.” But, he has adapted to the coaching role Chambers gave him.

Penn State guard Tim Frazier, left, is guarded by Purdue forward Travis Carroll in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in West Lafayette, Ind., Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. Purdue defeated Penn State 80-56.AP/Michael Conroy

An hour before practices the player hobbles into Chambers’ office, gives his two cents about the upcoming game plan and begs the question in true point-guard fashion: What can I do to help you and what can I do to help the team?

“We’re attached at the hip now,” Frazier said of his relationship with the coach.

Chambers wastes no time putting his understudy to good use. The tasks range from spending extra time talking to Newbill after practice to preparing the scouting report and delivering it to the team the day of the game.

Being the last one to talk to his team minutes before the game is a task even Frazier needed to prepare for. It’s a task usually reserved for assistant coaches, but one Chambers asked him to deliver.

Frazier’s on-court preparation made him a force and that same mentality carried over to his scouting report. He thought about what he saw from the game film, jotted down notes and spent the night before the game at the team hotel memorizing lines and reading it over. While the team warmed up he had the managers sit in the room and listen to his delivery.

“Once the clock starts ticking down to game time there’s so much to think about,” Oliver recalled. “With Tim it just flowed out. ... You think it’s easy because you’ve got the scouting report in your head but at the same time you’re trying to keep the guys motivated and you don’t want to fumble any words. I was motivated and wanted to play after hearing it.”

All of the pep talks, scouting reports and practice critiques are giving Frazier a better appreciation for what his coaches do on a daily basis. When he returns to the court next season, after receiving a medical redshirt this season which is expected to be granted, he vows to have a more complete understanding of the game.

“When coach yells at you in practice sometimes you’re like, ‘Uh, what is he talking about?’ Truly, what is he talking about?’ ” Frazier said. “Now you sit there on the sideline and I’m the guy yelling at them. ‘You gotta do this. You gotta do that. What are you talking about?’ I have a greater appreciation for coach and the assistant coaches being so calm when we make mistake after mistake at practice.”

The road ahead

In the coming months Frazier will have to learn how to run again while not compensating for the injured leg. He’ll use the summer to get back to the level of fitness he was at when the injury occurred, something that’s expected to take 6-12 months.

It’s the first major injury of his career and while he says he doesn’t have doubts about if he can come back and if his quickness will be as good, he’s still welcoming doubters.

On the play he was injured, Frazier is still unsure what happened. The feeling that someone kicked him in the back of the leg -- a common sensation most people with Achilles ruptures experience -- left him looking around at his teammates to see who bumped into him. Left on the ground looking up at the closest guy around, teammate John Graham, Frazier knew something about this injury was different.

He tried to stand up on his toes and an excruciating pain shot up the leg, prompting him to undergo further medical tests. The video board showed the replay several times throughout the game while his family watched and speculated. Frazier intends to watch the injury replay many more times this offseason.

“I will definitely use it as motivation. Motivation to get better at everything I can do right now,” he said. “I’ll use it to remind me about my leadership, use it to improve my strength and conditioning, use as motivation to remember that this happened to me for a reason.”

It’s taken some time for Frazier to muster up that optimism. Text messages from his sister and phone calls from his mom and dad reminded him that this year could help him in the long run. He’ll have another season next year. The players around him will have more experience, especially Newbill, who Frazier was excited about playing alongside from the get-go.

“There’s something dangerous about someone who people thought was at the peak of their career and then that’s taken away from them,” said his sister, Krystal, who spent six months recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon but came back to average 10 points per game during her senior season at Rice in 2006-2007. “Tim’s going to be a lot better than he was a few months ago.”

The looming Big Ten slate will be tough for him to watch and he won’t be able to attend all of the road trips because NCAA rules don’t allow injured players to miss class time to attend away games. His Christmas wish for a healthy Achilles won’t be granted in time for him to see many of his young teammates play in hostile conference road environments for the first time.

But with each passing day the hop up the steps to his second-story apartment becomes easier. His desire to sneak in all upper body shots on the court when Chambers isn’t around hasn’t left. Neither has the energy that keeps him tapping his foot, clinging to Oliver’s suit jacket to balance himself so he can pop up and pump his fist after a teammate makes a 3-pointer.

He’s still the team’s captain even if his domain is now cheering along the end line rather than setting the offense at the top of the key.

“It’s definitely strange,” Frazier said. “This is such a different situation for me. ... I have so much energy and I want these guys to do so well and I have all this energy sitting there but this is the best I can do right now.”